Hellfire
by SisterSavior
Summary: Esmeralda has a different story to tell. AU.


**A/N:** Posted on my Mibba account as part of a contest (though the contest never seemed to fall through) I decided to post it here. I pulled pieces from the book as well as the animated Disney film and contorted the story line. Each of us in the contest were given a photo of a horrendous looking Disney character, and from the photo, we had to create a story.

* * *

_Witch._

The word was hissed from the mouths of the people of Paris. She had been called it before, and still Esmeralda saw no meaning. She was no witch; her tricks were mere illusions that the mind could not comprehend. But, this was before everything came crashing down; before Dom Claude Frollo had her burned, before Notre Dame nearly fell to her knees, before the love she found, before the friends she made, and before Frollo knew who she was.

Esmeralda remembered that night of terror well; the one where everyone believed she had died. She didn't die, it was another one of her many tricks; or so she had herself believe. After the events, she hid away in the shadows of the alleys, plotting her revenge. Frollo had her love, Phoebus, killed, along with her dear friend Quasimodo; both of which she had witnessed after her own demise. Esmeralda had no one, not even the gypsies. She had gone to them for aid, and in her condition they turned her away; under their breaths they too muttered the word _witch_...

* * *

_The light of the many fires cast an orange glow against the clouded sky, granting the illusion that dawn was near. Notre Dame had spoken earlier, announcing that it was only midnight. Smoke filled the air, making it difficult to breathe. Esmeralda's head bobbed from one side to the other; the smell rousing her from unconsciousness. Her eyes burned and welled with fresh tears. She tried to move, but her arms and feet were bound with coarse rope. Esmeralda struggled against the bindings, hoping to free herself._

"_You have evaded me long enough, my dear," Frollo said. The archdeacon was dressed in his black robes; his bony hands intertwined underneath the large sleeves. "Have me, and you won't burn. Refuse and you shall taste the fires of hell."_

_Esmeralda quickly came to her senses. If the devil walked the earth, he would have taken Frollo as a vessel. Esmeralda glared at him and struggled against the rope once more, releasing grunts of agitation and fury. Frollo walked towards her as guards began piling dry hay around her feet. Frollo reached out and took a strand of her dark hair between his fingers; he twirled it and grinned. Esmeralda quickly turned her head to the side, trying to release his grip. She didn't like how close he was, she wanted him gone. Never would she agree to his wishes; she would rather face death._

"_What will it be, my dear?" Frollo asked. Esmeralda turned her head to face him. Instead of giving an answer, she spat in the archdeacon's face. Frollo stumbled backwards; his face filled with lust quickly transformed into that of anger. Frollo raised a hand and struck the gypsy across her cheek. "Burn her!"_

"_NO!" another voice shouted from the crowd. It was Phoebus; his golden armor was covered in soot as was his face. He didn't look like the gorgeous god Esmeralda was familiar with; his appearance did not stop her heart from swooning at the sight of her love. Fire surrounded her feet, she grew warm and the flames began to lick her flesh. The dry hay caught the flame quickly; the heat of the fires intensified._

"_Seize him," Frollo pointed at the Captain._

_Three nearby guards obeyed Frollo's command. Phoebus drew his sword and began a fight. The man would not die easily, nor would he give up on the woman he loved. Seeing her there, bound and suffering, fueled his own fire. Phoebus swung his sword around, slicing the neck of one of the guards. He gurgled on his blood and collapsed to the ground._

_He was attacked from behind by another. Phoebus turned and clashed his sword together with the guard's. The steel sang loudly, filling the air with its shrill sound. Esmeralda watched in horror as Phoebus took on two other men. The smoke was starting to fill her lungs; she coughed and gagged, but the heaving only made it worse. Her eyes welled with fresh tears; her skin ached and burned from the flames._

_It was eating her, devouring her slowly. Esmeralda fought back against the pain. Frollo stood by, watching both her and Phoebus. Phoebus was losing his fight, already growing weak with fatigue. _Don't give up now, Phoebus,_ Esmeralda thought. She could hear the men grunting as they continued to fight. Phoebus's sword was launched out of his hands; the sword landed on the podium where Frollo stood and Esmeralda burned._

_The two guards held Phoebus down. Frollo picked up the Captain's sword. He ran a hand along the blood stained blade. "Oh, Captain Phoebus," Frollo began. "This would have been much easier if you never got involved."_

_Esmeralda felt sick, and it wasn't because of the blood that seeped from her pores. She watched as Frollo stood by Phoebus; the man struggled but did not break free. "Now my dear," Frollo said. "This is your last chance. Choose me, or you will burn and watch as I kill your Phoebus."_

_Unbeknownst to her, Frollo would not take her if she agreed. Half of her beauty was singed from the flames. The fire was doing a well job. Frollo raised the sword when Esmeralda gave no answer. She began to weep and continued to cough. Esmeralda shut her eyes tightly as Frollo brought down the sword, hacking off Phoebus's head. "No!" she wailed._

_There was too much pain; physical and emotional. Esmeralda was certain she would die. The young woman briefly opened her eyes, taking in the pool of blood and the decapitated head of her former lover. Her heart throbbed; her mind shut itself down._

_Esmeralda didn't remember much after that; she remembered fainting from dehydration, but before fainting she briefly remembered hearing some sort of commotion around her. When she awoke, she was on the cold, stone ground. The first image she was greeted with was that of Notre Dame. The magnificent and haunting cathedral loomed over her, beckoning her inside for safety._

_Esmeralda quickly gathered herself and ran into the church. Her mind was a buzz; she was not dead, but how? Where was Frollo? Esmeralda leaned against the stone walls of the church. She briefly caught her reflection in the pale marble statue. Esmeralda gasped and brought a hand up to her face. Half of her body suffered from third degree burns; half corpse, half beauty._

"_Find that creature and bring him to me!" Esmeralda's heart quickened at the sound of Frollo's voice. He was just outside of the church, and she wondered if he was going to come in. Who were they talking about? Was it her rescuer? There was only one person Frollo referred to as a creature, and that was Quasimodo. Esmeralda's heart leapt; where was her dear friend? She suddenly feared for his safety._

_She couldn't bear to lose another person in her life, but something told her that this new fate would be inevitable. Esmeralda was pressed against the large door, listening to the conversation taking place outside. Behind her, a disfigured being placed a large gentle hand on her back. Esmeralda nearly jumped out of her skin; she was ready to defend herself, even if it was with her own hands._

_Quasimodo gasped as the once beautiful girl turned around. His good eye took in the pain and destruction caused by the fires. "I should have come sooner," he whispered. "I'm sorry." He looked up at her, watching her mouth as she began to speak. Quasimodo was deaf; he was a bell ringer after all. _

"_It's not your fault," she said. "It's my own."_

"_You must leave this place," her friend said. "It is not safe for you here. I shall help you find peace."_

"_Is Notre Dame not a sanctuary?" Esmeralda questioned._

"_Phoebus is dead, and the guards follow my master."_

_Quasimodo was right, Esmeralda sighed and turned away. "There is no other way out," she said. "Unless we choose to climb down the building, we would be caught."_

"_I shall be your distraction," Quasimodo said. "A life like mine has no true meaning."_

_In her heart, Esmeralda felt sadness. She placed her bony hand on Quasimodo's shoulder, "I cannot let you do this for me," she said. "It's not fair."_

"_The fate my master bestowed upon you was not fair," Quasimodo looked up at her with sympathetic eyes. He knew that Esmeralda would love him no more than a friend, and in a way he hoped that this sacrifice would make her see him differently._

"_I cannot afford to lose a friend," she pleaded. Her bony hand squeezed his shoulder tightly, but Quasimodo did not flinch._

_Quasimodo forced a smile and walked towards the large doors. He pushed them open and ran down the front steps of the church. "Seize him!" Frollo shouted. Esmeralda listened closely as guards grunted and bodies hit the ground. She took her chance and slipped out of the church unseen. She peered around the corner of the church when she was far enough away from the scene._

Turn away_, a voice whispered to her. _Don't look_, it said. It took five guards to hold Quasimodo down. They tied him with rope. Esmeralda suddenly felt sick to her stomach as the rope was tossed around. "Hang him," Frollo commanded. "In front of the church."_

_Esmeralda wasn't sure if Quasimodo was staring at her, his lazy eyes drifted from where she hid to the courtyard in front of the church. "Heave!" the guards shouted. As a team the pulled on the rope, lifting Quasimodo's disproportional body into the air. Tears pricked Esmeralda's eyes, she turned away._

_She cried until the tears ran out. The light tinkling of bells startled her from the depths of her own mind. Esmeralda turned her head to the side where she spotted her true friend. "Djali," she whispered. "You're the only one I have." The little goat was shocked by Esmeralda's appearance; he growled at the unfamiliarity that transformed Esmeralda. They both transformed, she noticed. Djali was burned as well, though lucky for him it wasn't fatal like Esmeralda's had been._

_Esmeralda opened her arms and beckoned the goat forward. Cautiously, Djali neared her. He tensed under her touch, but soon enough he was at ease. Esmeralda held him close, gently petting him. "Don't fear, Djali. Frollo won't hurt us. Not anymore. When the time is right, Frollo won't see us coming."_

* * *

Esmeralda drew her purple cloak around her, covering her entire body as she stepped out into the dark street. She kept her head down as she walked slowly towards the Palace of Justice. Claude Frollo would not die an easy death; Esmeralda wanted him to feel the pain her friends had felt, as well as she. She would be the incarnate of his nightmares. As she walked, there was a tinkling sound coming from the bells tied around Djali's neck. The goat hadn't gotten off easy during the madness either; a piece of burning wood was thrown and hit the goat in the eye, killing the nerves and causing blindness.

Esmeralda kept her head down as she passed the passersby. She could feel their eyes boring into her back as she walked. Their curiosity of the stranger caused minor fear; Esmeralda heard their paces increase. It had taken a year for the city to regain herself, and even though the lifestyle was as normal as could be, the people of Paris were still frightened.

As Esmeralda neared the stone building, two guards turned their attention to her. "Who goes there?" one guard questioned. Both men placed hands over their swords as a precaution.

Esmeralda did not answer. She continued to walk forward, slowly. "Stop, the Palace is closed. Who are you? What do you want?" Still, there was no answer. Esmeralda placed her hand on the dagger hiding beneath her cloak. She kept her head down, listening to the sound of a sword being drawn from its holding. Esmeralda was swift; she whipped out the small dagger and jammed it into the first guard's neck. When she pulled it out, blood squirted from the deep wound. Esmeralda turned to the other guard who had his sword pointed right at her chest. There were only a few inches between the point and her flesh.

"What is your business?" the guard asked.

"I am here to see Claude Frollo," Esmeralda said. She pulled her hood back and stared the guard straight in the eye. "It is for a meeting long overdue."

The guard was stunned by the hideous sight. He gasped and tried to keep his sword arm steady. Esmeralda smirked as it quivered. With her free hand, she pushed down on the guard's sword. She walked over to him and stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. "I shall give you a choice much like Frollo had given me; life or death?"

The guard shivered; he took a step back, and then he ran. Esmeralda entered the building; she wiped the blood off of her dagger on her cloak. The Palace of Justice was eerily silent. Esmeralda followed a corridor, hoping that it would lead her to her victim. She walked by statues and large portraits of people she never heard of.

The doors she entered took her down even more hallways. The building was like a maze, and Esmeralda tried to remember the way back out. Torches lit the way; they were spaced by many feet, casting a dim glow down each corridor. As she rounded a corner, Esmeralda stopped. She placed out a foot to halt Djali in the midst of his walk. The guard at the end of the hall turned around at the sound of bells. Esmeralda watched from the corner as he quietly pulled out his sword. He stared into the darkness, waiting for something. Esmeralda smirked.

The guard began walking forward. Esmeralda returned to hiding behind the wall, waiting and listening as the guard neared her hiding place. Temporarily, she caught Djali's eye. It almost looked as though the goat was giving her the signal to strike. Esmeralda spotted the guard's shadow. She pulled out her dagger and stabbed him by his collarbone. The guard gasped and fell backwards. Esmeralda shoved him into the wall. She retrieved his sword and brought the cold steel up to his throat. "Where is Claude Frollo?" she asked.

The man trembled at her sight and at the sudden turn of events. His eyes darted over to the end of the hall where he was posted. Esmeralda followed his gaze before dramatically turning her attention back to the guard. "Thank you," she whispered. Esmeralda lowered the sword; the guard became less tense. Before he could make another movement, Esmeralda used the man's sword and slit his throat. Blood slid down the front of his neck in a smooth and quiet fashion. She tossed the sword beside the dead guard and proceeded with her mission.

"Frollo," she sang in a haunting whisper. Esmeralda pushed the door of the ex-Archdeacon's room open. "Frollo," she repeated in the same manner. Moonlight streamed through the little window. A figure moved on the bed. Esmeralda withdrew a second dagger from her cloak. "Frollo, wake up," she whispered. The ex-Archdeacon was much older than she remembered; regardless of the time that has passed, his was a face that Esmeralda would never forget.

She hovered over his bedside, staring down at the old man. Claude Frollo slowly opened his eyes, and what he saw nearly gave him a heart attack. "God have mercy!" he shouted. The frail main shrank against his covers, as if they would protect him from her. "God save me from this mistress of hell!"

"Your god does not answer to monsters," Esmeralda said. "Look upon my face, look at what you've done."

"You brought this chaos upon yourself," the old man moaned. He pushed himself against the wall where his bed rested.

"You killed the love I had, you killed my dear friend," Esmeralda raised the dagger. "You nearly killed me. I'd say this was a blessing from your god... that I am alive, because now I can avenge those you've done wrong."

"Have mercy," Frollo said. He clasped his hands together. "Have mercy. I'm an old man!"

"An old man, maybe," Esmeralda agreed. "But you are still a monster at heart. Now it's your turn, Claude Frollo. It's your turn to taste the fires of hell."

Without hesitation, Esmeralda brought down the dagger and plunged it into Frollo's chest. She watched him writhe in pain, she watched him suffer before the life left his eyes. Esmeralda grinned, and without delay she vanished...


End file.
